Trumpeter 1/32 Lightning P-38L-5-LO

[BarryW]

I have started work on the gun bay and nose section. It’s times like this that I am so glad I like to have the panels closed. Dry fitting shows that the gun bay and panels won’t fit at all so I have had to cut parts right back.

At least the panels themselves fit, as long as the internal detail is not there.

That’s a good starting point.

Here is the gun bay dry fitted to the nose.


I cut it back to this, still a dry fit and the main cannon is not in place as I will need to slide that in later.

I may have to trim more off later when I fit the nose.

The panels need some plastic sheet to make sure they have a strong join.

The central ‘spine’ could then be fitted, again it needed a bit of trimming with a bulkhead to the rear having to be cut off. That bit of bulkhead prevented the spine from fitting to the fuselage in the right position.


I am leaving that to properly dry before the next stage

[BarryW]

A quick one. I measured our 60grams of liquid gravity into a shot glass and balanced that on the nose!

Perfect. I now know how much I need to use. A bit too much to fit into the nose itself (as Trumpy suggest) but it clearly works a bit further back.

[Tim Marlow]

A quick one. I measured our 60grams of liquid gravity into a shot glass and balanced that on the nose!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1205144[/ATTACH]
Perfect. I now know how much I need to use. A bit too much to fit into the nose itself (as Trumpy suggest) but it clearly works a bit further back.

That’s coming on well Barry, looks excellent so far.

Just remember that as you move the weight back towards the pivot point the turning moment is decreased and you need more weight to generate the same effect Barry. That shot glass is right on the extremity so is exerting the most it can.
It works like this….

Don’t want to tell you how to suck eggs, but also did want you to zip it all up and find she won’t balance, especially after all this great work you’ve put in.

[BarryW]

That’s coming on well Barry, looks excellent so far.

Just remember that as you move the weight back towards the pivot point the turning moment is decreased and you need more weight to generate the same effect Barry. That shot glass is right on the extremity so is exerting the most it can.
It works like this….
[ATTACH]486436[/ATTACH]
Don’t want to tell you how to suck eggs, but also did want you to zip it all up and find she won’t balance, especially after all this great work you’ve put in.

Yes Tim, thanks. I am aware. I positioned it there because the instructions say 60gms in the nose cone but there is not really enough room, hence trying it a little further back, where I did.


I have started fitting some ballast and also attached the panel. As you can see it needs those bits of plastic card. I need to fit a bit of a bulkhead to keep the next lot of ballast at that forward point.

[BarryW]

I have also used some plastic sheet to create a well in the nose to keep liquid gravity away from the gun ports. It will need sealing with white glue.

[adt70hk]

Coming on nicely Barry.

That liquid gravity looks just like the very smallest lead shot I used for fishing not that I do much... Last time I checked shot size 8 and below could still be lead and I still have some in the fishing box.

Will be interesting to work out which is cheaper....a premium modelling product or cheap lead shot....

ATB

Andrew

[scottie3158]

Barry,
That was a serious amount of internal detail that you had to remove to get everything to fit.

[Jim R]

There are certainly some serious fit issues to deal with. As you say panels could not be modelled open which is a shame.
Having said that you're doing your usual excellent build.

[Tim Marlow]

Coming on nicely Barry.

That liquid gravity looks just like the very smallest lead shot I used for fishing not that I do much... Last time I checked shot size 8 and below could still be lead and I still have some in the fishing box.

Will be interesting to work out which is cheaper....a premium modelling product or cheap lead shot....

ATB

Andrew

If you do use genuine lead shot Andrew don’t glue it in with PVA. If you do it turns into Lead acetate, which expands and can crack joints over time. Used to be a common issue amongst loco builders back in the nineties.

[adt70hk]

If you do use genuine lead shot Andrew don’t glue it in with PVA. If you do it turns into Lead acetate, which expands and can crack joints over time. Used to be a common issue amongst loco builders back in the nineties.

Duly noted....is CA ok? Had planned to use that.

[Guest]

You could also cut a piece of plastic card as a cover: put in the weight and glue the card over it. Or use two-part epoxy putty to keep the weight in place.

[adt70hk]

You could also cut a piece of plastic card as a cover: put in the weight and glue the card over it. Or use two-part epoxy putty to keep the weight in place.

Had also thought about that.

[Tim Marlow]

Had also thought about that.

Personally I just used to use araldite, but CA should be fine. Mind you, it’s not going to be taken out again, so you could even use blue tack.

[BarryW]

It’s been fun and games getting the nose weight in.

I used plastic card to close off the rear of the gun bay, a previous picture showed it when half done. Then I filled almost the whole front cavity.

As you can see that’s not nearly enough. I filled the cavity in sections, dry fitting the nose each time to check. Only dry fitting the nose, with its cavity filled, when I got to the above did it work!

I have now cemented the guns into place, as you can see below. Once dry I will have to cut those right down to get the nose actually fitted. I won’t do that just yet as I want the guns fully dry and firmly in place.

I really don’t know how anyone can avoid a tail sitter and have the gun bay open as there is just not enough room for ballast, so any scratched building to correct the poor fit would have been wasted! No wonder every photo I have seen of this kit does not display the gun bay.

Believe it or not though, I am quite enjoying this build so if you want a large scale P38 don’t be put off by these minor issues.

[minitnkr]

I would imagine loading the engine nacelles forward of the landing gear would do the trick as well.